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Amazon’s new arrival: A baby shop for Canadians

Amazon.com Inc. has launched a baby products shop on its Canadian e-commerce storefront, Amazon.ca. The Amazon Baby shop features more than 25,000 products from more than 500 brands, Amazon says.

Expectant parents can peruse the baby shop by product category. The shop’s categories are strollers, car seats, nursery, activities and gear, feeding, diapering, high chairs, bedding, toys, and health and safety. Consumers can also shop by the child’s life stage, such as newborns, infants and toddlers.

"Our goal is to offer Canadians the most convenient shopping experience, featuring the largest selection of baby products online," says Steve Oliver, director of Amazon.ca.

Parents also have more time to decide whether a purchased item is right for them and their tot. The return window for baby items is 45 days, as opposed to the standard 30-day window Amazon.ca sets for non-baby items. Toys ‘R’ Us Canada Ltd., which operates baby goods brand Babies ‘R’ Us, also has a 45-day return window for online purchases. Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. is No. 29 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. Amazon.com is No. 1.

More than half of online Canadians ordered products and services on the web in 2010, spending the equivalent of US$15.02 billion, according to Statistics Canada, the government agency that conducts the nation's census and collects economic data. Canadians' spending with e-retailers was projected to reach the equivalent of US$18.6 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer Inc., which predicts e-commerce in Canada will grow approximately 14% annually through 2014.